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Chr. Hansen sells natural colors business unit to private equity firm15 Oct 2020
After considering a sale for several months, Chr. Hansen sold its natural colors business to private equity firm EQT IX for EUR 800 million. The deal is expected to officially close in 2021.
EQT said that with this acquisition, it plans to expand the unit both organically by strengthening its digital infrastructure, sustainability capabilities and supply chain setup and through strategic acquisitions. The private equity firm noted that the current market for natural colors is highly fragmented but that Chr. Hansen’s Natural Colors business is the market leader. The business unit posted $250 million in sales last year and has grown 9% annually over the past five years.
Despite the growth of the unit and continued consumer demand for natural colors, the Danish biotech and natural food solutions manufacturer chose to shed this arm of its business. Colors made from all-natural fruit and vegetable concentrates are a popular concept for consumers looking for clean label alternatives and healthier options to purchase. Nevertheless, the introduction of these plant-based hues does not always go smoothly.
General Mills serves as the case study for the lackluster reception that natural colorant alternatives can receive. After reformulating its Trix cereal to a recipe using only plant-based colors in 2017, the company quickly reverted back to its original vibrant recipe when consumers reacted negatively to the change.
Despite these struggles, Big Food continues to invest in developing alternatives that use natural shades as these alternatives remain a lucrative segment. The category is anticipated to grow to $2.5 billion by 2025, according to Grand View Research, which predicted the Asia Pacific region to account for over 29% of the revenue market share. Similarly, EQT expects to see growth in that region. In the announcement, the private equity firm noted it will focus primarily on building out demand for the Natural Colors business in Asia as well as the United States.
This divestment is not the first in the last year from an ingredients company. Last year, DuPont divested its own natural colors business to the private equity firm DDW. While ingredient companies have struggled with their natural color divisions, EQT noted that fragmentation has remained a barrier for the industry. The firm said it will focus on industry consolidation as an approach to mitigate the difficulties associated with growing this category.
In lieu of pursuing vegetable-based dyes to make its name, Chr. Hansen said in a statement that the sale of its Natural Colors division allows the company to pursue its strategic goal of “fulfilling the ambition of becoming a pure-play, microbial and fermentation company.” This explanation is in line with the company’s 2025 strategic plan and fits with changing consumer demands globally. Fermentation has grown steadily as a component of natural foods production in the last several years. Recently, a report from the Good Food Institute highlighted fermentation as the next pillar of alternative protein.
Boom or bust: Are consumers ready for the alternative protein revolution?
24 Jun 2022
While excitement over alt-proteins is high among industry and investors, major challenges remain for companies looking to convince consumers to switch to a plant-based ‘meat alternative’.Read more
Mars launches animal-free chocolate with Perfect Day’s whey protein
21 Jun 2022
Mars has launched a vegan chocolate bar made with biotech unicorn Perfect Day’s animal-free whey protein made via precision fermentation.Read more
Unilever in $120m biotech venture to scale palm oil alternative
20 Jun 2022
Unilever has teamed up with US biotech company Genomatica to commercialise its palm oil alternative produced via a biotechnology fermentation process.Read more
Nitrite and nitrate alternatives gain ground for processed meat applications
14 Jun 2022
As France finalises its review into the health risks of nitrite in cured meats, industry research focuses on the potential substitutes for nitrite and nitrate in processed meats to offer consumers healthy alternatives.Read more
US FDA was ‘wrong’ to deem tagatose calorie content ‘significantly higher’ than allulose, says Bonumose CEO
8 Jun 2022
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was “wrong” to deem tagatose’s calorie content contribution “significantly higher” than allulose because the difference between the two sugar substitutes is less than between tagat...Read more
Demand for tapioca syrup as a sweetener surges
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Seen as a better-for-you, natural sweetener, tapioca syrup is growing in demand, particularly among consumers in Asia and North America.Read more
Future-proof chocolate from Voyage Foods
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Chocolate made without cacao, peanut butter without peanuts, coffee without the beans. All these futuristic-sounding possibilities have become a reality with Voyage Foods’ reverse engineering technology that recreates these popular foods using ot...Read more
Indonesia bans palm oil exports, prices surge
4 May 2022
Just over a week ago, Indonesia, the world’s top palm oil exporter enacted an export ban on raw materials for cooking oil, including crude and refined palm oil, causing major supply chain disruptions.Read more
Dairy butter carbon footprint is 3.5 times larger than plant-based spreads, says Upfield
25 Apr 2022
Plant-based margarine manufacturer Upfield says its spreads have a 70% smaller carbon footprint, require half the amount of water and use two-thirds less land across the product cycle when compared to conventional butter, according to a life cycle...Read more
Pulse-based snacks continue to gain ground as a functional choice
18 Apr 2022
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According to a study released by the AberdeenGroup, the majority of small manufacturers - those with annual sales less than $50 million - are not taking full advantage of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).
In recent years, the price of ERP infrastructure has dropped significantly, which is allowing for more recent installations of an ERP solution. While 35 percent of respondents have implemented a solution in the last five years, 14 percent have not yet implemented any ERP solution at all, Aberdeen said.
According to the study, a small start-up company has “a significant advantage” over a start-up 10 years ago when it comes to ERP options, which today offer more features at a lower cost than implementation options a decade ago.
The top two challenges for ERP implementation are “customization related challenges” at 40 percent, closely followed by “redesigning business processes” at 39 percent. Training was also a major concern at 39 percent. The study found that because smaller companies tend to run leaner, not enough attention is given to training during the important implementation phase.
Small companies also noted they are more likely to use external consultants for training. For all the potential issues, however, less than one fifth of small company respondents addressed ERP challenges by utilizing standard integration methodologies and utilized web-based services.
The study also found that small businesses are more likely to align their processes to software capabilities as a way to avoid customization issues. One third of respondents responded to ERP challenges by deploying newer applications. ERP is also extending out to peripheral areas like CRM (Customer Resource management, SCP and SCE (Supply chain Planning and Execution), and by combining these areas, integration issues are potentially reduced.
The study warns companies against the status quo when approaching their ERP systems. While 43 percent of companies intend to stay exactly where they are, 47 percent are planning significant upgrades in the next 12 months. A major concern with companies is the quality of new releases of the software. If a company has a poor experience with an upgrade, it is less likely to move to a new release in a timely manner, with 72 percent of respondents running one or more releases behind.To review the entire study, click here.

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A recent report that Sony is planning to introduce in-game ads in free PlayStation games, this new monetization path is to help developers make more income, start more
The viewpoint of the software developer program.
There is no doubt that implementing in-game advertisements will help developers monetize only within the context of advertisements in the list where publishers are promoting their games on the PlayStation Store.
In addition, Sony is also streaming video ads via OTT apps, and sources revealed that Sony has yet to adopt what the developers’ total revenue stream is from GDP.
In-game ads are expected to reach PlayStation by the end of 2022, and according to his announcement, the ads are being placed directly inside PS games and will be sold via a private market.
According to the report, the placement of ads shown on it to display ads, ads placed on it to display ads displayed in the game, the company’s plans for multiple forms of ads such as watching videos will give some ads shown in the game, etc.
For exporters, there have also been reports of Microsoft working on the income format. The idea of advertising is somewhat complex.
We hope that the article was to your satisfaction. Follow us on our social media accounts. Follow our news.. and to advertise our website, please click here
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JAPAN: Starbucks slashes full-year forecast from profit to loss
Starbucks Coffee Japan has significantly cut its full-year net forecast to a net loss of ¥500m (US$4.1m) from a previous forecast of a ¥950m net profit. The company, which is the Japanese unit of US coffee giant Starbucks, attributed the fall in profits to a cooling off of sales at its stores, but denied that the new forecast would have a major effect on its plans for expansion. The company plans to increase its 416 stores in Japan to 500 by September 2003.
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- Kraft Heinz "substantially undervalued" Unilever


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"They can do all this out of the public eye – guys like me aren't sitting there scrutinizing the financial impact of every single settlement," said analyst Jeff Johnson of Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee. "You can completely focus on your brand and on doing what's right by the patient."
Bausch & Lomb resorted to pushing an older product, ReNu MultiPlus, to try to shore up its battered lens care business. But those sales dropped from $522 million in 2005 to about $450 million in 2008, while Alcon's rose from $297 million to $469 million, said analyst Peter Bye of Jefferies & Co. in New York.
The knock on profits was more acute. With MultiPlus already sold under generic or retailer-chain labels, Alcon's share of branded solutions is "much higher than Bausch's," Bye said. "When you talk about (lens-care) boxes going out to new patients, it's up in the 60-70 percent range in the U.S."
Alcon's multipurpose formula was untarnished and "that's why they're cleaning up," Bye said, adding that "the stasis at the FDA means this competitive imbalance is continuing."
On the Net:
Bausch & Lomb:


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“The onion market appears to be stabilizing,” says Kees van den Bosch of the Dutch company Freeland. “For a while, it seemed the sky was the limit, but, as it turns out, that’s the case after all. The yellow onion bale prices are now leveling out slightly at around €0.90 for the 60/80 grades. Speculators need to get rid of their onions at some point, too, and it looks like there’s somewhat more product available than a week or two ago.”
Demand, however, is quite broad. “Onions are in good demand, both towards the east of Europe to countries like Poland and Serbia and the south to countries such as Spain and Italy. People are also optimistic about the onion set season. The first onion sets will be back on the market in mid-June,” explains Kees, “and the stakes are high this year. It could be another good trade, but it’s too late for those still wanting to get in. All the sets are sold out.”
According to Kees, Egyptian yellow onions are still sporadic on the market. “Some have already been unloaded, but certainly not in large volumes yet. Those will soon arrive in April and May. But the Egyptian harvest is much smaller this year after last year’s poor yields. Plus, it’s quite difficult to get Egyptian onions now. Payment demands are quite high, and Egyptian onions cost almost as much as Dutch ones,” he concludes.


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Apple’s upcoming smartphones will be powered by a new A11 SoC. According to developer Steve Troughton-Smith the Apple A11 chip will feature six processor cores.
It will have two cores which are named Monsoon and will be used for tasks requiring high power, such as gaming and video manipulation. The remaining four Mistral cores handle the lighter housekeeping – texting and checking email, for instance.
A11 chipset is capable of running all its CPU cores independently, so the IOS 11 can access multiple cores of any kind, depending on the task at hand. And all could run simultaneously if maximum power is required. The A10 Fusion could use only its dual high-performance cores or quad low-power & efficient cores at any time.
As for the current A10 Fusion chip which powers the Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus has 2 high-powered Hurricane cores and 2 low-power Zephyr cores but they can only run one cluster at a time.
The upcoming Apple smartphones will have more powerful processor than before and the processor will be able to choose the cores according to its requirement.


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A Chemist Accidentally Creates A New Blue. Then What?
Mas Subramanian wasn't expecting blue.
In 2009, as part of his lab at Oregon State University, Subramanian — a professor of materials science — was working with students to manufacture new materials that could be used in electronics. They would mix and grind chemicals, then heat them to over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit.
One grad student, Andrew E. Smith, took a particular mix out of the furnace to find it had turned a surprising, bright blue color.
"You know what Louis Pasteur said?" Subramanian asks. "Luck favors the alert mind."
Pasteur, the French chemist and microbiologist, famously created a vaccine to chicken cholera by accident. Smith and Subramanian, as it turns out, stumbled upon an undiscovered pigment of blue — the first new blue in over 200 years.
Subramanian knew immediately it was a big deal.
"People have been looking for a good, durable blue color for a couple of centuries," he says.
What's in a pigment?
Before getting into why this blue was so special, let's talk for a moment about light and metal.
"Color is a part of a spectrum, so you can't discover a color," Subramanian says. "You can only discover a material that is a particular color."
That spectrum is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet — no indigo. A pigment is a material that absorbs certain parts of the color spectrum and reflects others.
In this case the material — "YInMn blue," named after its chemical makeup of yttrium, indium and manganese oxides — absorbed red and green wavelengths and reflected blue wavelengths in such a way that it came off looking a very bright blue.
Now, this particular blue is considered a "complex inorganic pigment."
According to Geoffrey Peake, R&D manager at The Shepherd Color Co., that means it's not a naturally occurring pigment (such as ultramarine, which comes from the rock lapis lazuli). Rather, it derives from a mix of various metal oxides — a metal element combined with oxygen.
"In our systems, blue is one of the most highly requested color families," says Brooks Tippett, vice president of operations at the Pantone color company.
The reason for both the above is that blue pigments are difficult and expensive to extract from nature. Lapis lazuli, for one, is mined mostly in Afghanistan and Pakistan. So synthetic pigments are easier to manufacture in bulk, and much more durable.
The last new complex inorganic blue pigment to be commercially manufactured was cobalt blue — a mix of cobalt and aluminum oxides — in the early 19th century. Cobalt, however, can be toxic if ingested in large quantities, and it doesn't reflect heat particularly well. It fades over time.
Those aren't terrible downsides, as colors go. But if a better one happens to fall into their laps?
Blue is the coolest color
Subramanian and Smith, along with OSU chemistry professor Arthur Sleight, filed to patent the YInMn material before publishing a paper on their discovery with other collaborators in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Soon after, Peake says, Shepherd Color contacted OSU about testing out the pigment.
"I know from my experience — there will be a potential for commercialization," Subramanian says.
Shepherd, unlike a company like Pantone, isn't concerned with fashion, art, or other personal uses. It deals with paints and plastics that are made to be durable, used for outdoor applications like roofing and siding.
"It's not like Joe Artist can call us up," Peake says.
(That's why the blue isn't called anything more exciting than YInMn yet. When you're an industrial manufacturer, Peake says, "it doesn't seem necessary to have a catchier name.")
Shepherd looks for four main things in a new pigment, Peake says: Is it a stronger color than what's already available? Can it withstand elements like weather and heat? Are there cost advantages? And will they encounter any regulatory or environmental issues?
"Immediately they said this was really an exceptional blue, because it reflects heat more than cobalt blue, it's really stable and it's a really great color like lapis lazuli," Subramanian says.
Shepherd's tests — turning it into paints and plastics, using it on ceramics and metals — also showed YInMn can endure oil, water and sunlight better than other available blues.
Once the Environmental Protection Agency approves YInMn for commercial manufacturing, Shepherd can begin selling it to other companies. For every kilogram of the pigment the company sells, Peake says, Shepherd pays a royalty to OSU.
Think of this like a record deal. Subramanian's team and OSU wrote and own the tune, but Shepherd will market and distribute it — they'll try to make it a hit. And a new hit in the color industry is a rare thing.
"I've been doing this job for 27 years, and maybe worldwide there have been five or six new inorganic pigments that have been commercialized over that time period," Peake says.
A broader palette
Not that people aren't always searching for more color.
Peake says Shepherd has a research and development lab that works methodically to invent new pigment chemistries. In 2012, it introduced NTP Yellow, which the company patented and now sells.
Subramanian's current project includes a search for a better red pigment, which would be in high demand if found. Red tends to come from heavy metals or other toxic substances, like mercury and lead.
And Pantone — famous for its Color of the Year contest — regularly releases new shades into its standardized color systems. But according to Tippett, the Pantone vice president, those are primarily aimed at designers and the fashion and interiors industries, and based off a common, small group of pigments.
"Though we do have thousands of colors already, it never fails to surprise us that the No. 1 request from customers is they want more color," Tippett says.
Even though Pantone has yet to license YInMn itself, Tippett says the company is excited about all the possibilities a new pigment will hold. After all, it's not just the one blue that it provides, but a whole spectrum of colors it could be mixed to create.
Actually, Subramanian has already started doing that. Adding titanium and zinc to the YInMn mix makes a purple material; oranges and yellows and greens will soon follow.
Narayan Khandekar, caretaker of the Forbes Pigment Collection at the Harvard Art Museum, obtained samples of YInMn blue for display and plans to include Subramanian's other creations soon.
Khandekar says he looks forward to when these new color possibilities find their ways into the hands of artists. That's when he thinks people will really see the significance of YInMn.
"I think generally people take color for granted," Khandekar says. "They walk around without thinking that every color they see — every car, every piece of plastic — has a piece of dye in it that somebody found and figured out how to make. When you put pigments in art, people stop and pay attention to it."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Years ago, my reaction to information security and privacy audits was typical of tech executives who earned their stripes in the dot-com era: “what a pain.” Like many of my peers, I cared about privacy, but nobody wanted auditors taking time and focus away from other value-generating activities for customers. And yet, today, personal data is more valuable to companies than oil, and data breaches are occurring at an ever-increasing rate.
As companies scramble to prepare for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), taking effect on Jan. 1, I’ve come to see that companies should not approach compliance as a chore. Rather, privacy must be considered a core feature of any consumer product. Truly, deeply respecting consumer privacy — not just giving it lip service or doing the minimum to meet regulations — represents a significant business opportunity to build trust, expand revenue streams and set the stage for global market success.


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This November something very exciting happened involving statistics. I think I can almost guarantee that that sentence has never been found on a WordPress blog. Diamond Comics have released their monthly sales report for the comic book industry. This is huge news. Diamond Comics handle the majority of distribution in the world of comics so their sales give the closest thing to a top ten that we have in the industry. The trends displayed in their sales figures will go on to inform the decisions made by every Comic Book Company and creative team. If you’re interested in looking at the full report you can view it here.
The big news this month is that DC Comics have taken the top spot for sales of an individual issue with Dark Knight III: The Master Race Issue One. This wasn’t wholly unexpected, but it is still staggering to see a comic sell 440,234 copies. This is one of the highest recorded sales of the year, rivalling Star Wars Issue One amongst others. Unfortunately for DC Comics, after Dark Knight III: The Master Race Issue One, the company isn’t seen again until the number thirteen slot. The rest of the top ten are taken up by Marvel comics, who show an unnerving lead in sales that has been steadily increasing across the last few years. This seems to be down to the increase in film popularity and the surge of advertising Marvel have put into their All-New All-Different line up. Throughout the top one hundred, Marvel seem to continue to dominate sales with the majority of their premiere issues taking a solid placement in the rankings. However, across the top three hundred DC Comics make a comeback, with 76 of their products finding their way into the line-up, which just beats Marvel’s 71.
The month has been one of small victories for DC Comics as they seem to be in the strongest position they have been in a long time. However, turning to sales it is obvious that Marvel are running away with the numbers. In the number of units sold, Marvel corner the market with a staggering 47.65%, dwarfing DC Comic’s mere 26.09%. This goes on to impact upon Marvel’s sales figures as they hold a mighty 43.20% of the dollars spent on comics in November, which is frankly insane compared to their closest competition at DC Comics who only have a weak 26.35%.
There are many conclusions that can be drawn from this date. One is that, while DC Comics may be producing comics of a slightly higher quality (more having found their way into the top three hundred), Marvel dominates pop-culture, resulting in higher sales. It’s a disturbing trend, as DC Comics seem to be shrinking into the shadows slightly.
However, there is another company rising to take its place. Image Comics are growing at a surprising rate. In every market share statistic, it comes third behind the big two juggernauts. This has been a constant trend for several months and it could signal a growing divide in the comic book market. Is it possible five years from now we will be talking about the big three? In truth, I believe it’s more than likely, but what about you? Drop me a message in the comments section with your thoughts on these most recent figures from the industry and your views on the rise of Image!
…that was this week’s BearSleuth Opinion Piece! Check back on Friday for another BearSleuth Spoiler Free Bundle Review!


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voco hotels – part of IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG), one of the world’s leading hotel companies with more than 6,200 destinations across 19 brands announced the signing of its 25th Americas property in Missoula, Mont., nearly three years after launching in the region. The soon-to-renovate voco Missoula Downtown is the latest extension of voco hotels’ conversion-friendly model which combines the local character and charm of an independent property with the quality and reassurance of a respected global brand.
Scheduled to open in mid-2025 under the ownership of McDermid Management, voco Missoula Downtown will sit along the scenic Clark Fork riverfront and within two miles of the University of Montana. The brand’s first Montana property will feature 193 guest rooms along with a fitness center, indoor pool and more than 12,000 square feet of meeting and event space. Guests also can experience voco hotels’ “Come on in,” “Me time” and “voco life” hallmarks, which foster an inviting arrival through a swift check-in, warm and friendly hosted service, locally inspired welcome treats, and vibrant bar lounge and restaurant spaces.
voco Missoula Downtown joins a roster of more than 100* signed and opened voco hotels across more than 20 countries, bringing the brand closer to its goal of reaching 200 global in-system hotels by 2028 and maintaining its status as IHG’s fastest-growing premium brand. voco hotels’ accelerated growth stems largely from a soft design and operational framework conducive to conversions, which account for more than half of its roster of open and forthcoming global hotels. This flexibility has enabled the brand to quickly grow its Americas foothold across major metropolitan areas including Chicago and New York City, resort communities such as St. Augustine, and college towns such as Columbia, Mo.
Matt Frankiewicz, SVP, Development, Americas for IHG Hotels & Resorts, said: “Only three years after its Americas introduction – and five years after its global launch – voco hotels already is a true success story among IHG’s premium brands. We continue to grow by empowering owners to implement unique visions for an existing property while aligning elements of its legacy, character and surrounding community with modern brand features. We’re excited to bring voco hotels to other highly visible and prominent locations and introduce even more travelers to all that the brand has to offer.”
voco Missoula Downtown is the latest in a series of new-build and conversion signings that have expanded the brand’s reach and accelerated growth pace in the Americas.
This list of planned regional properties also includes:
voco Montreal: The new-build downtown Montreal hotel will be the brand’s first Canadian property, bringing the voco hotels experience to a new international market. Located a short distance from the Montreal Convention Center, University of Montreal Health Centre and the gateway to Old Montreal, voco Montreal will offer 59 guest rooms and spacious restaurant and lobby lounge concepts upon its targeted 2025 opening.
voco Myrtle Beach: A renovation and repositioning of a previous boardwalk-adjacent hotel, voco Myrtle Beach will mark the brand’s South Carolina debut. Featuring 241 guest rooms spanning nine stories, the hotel will welcome outdoor engagement and relaxation through a revamped oceanside lawn area, indoor and outdoor pools, and the addition of a lazy river and tiki bar. voco Myrtle Beach is projected to begin construction later this year ahead of a planned early 2025 opening.
voco Royalty Puebla Downtown:
The brand’s fourth open or in-pipeline property in Mexico, voco Royalty Puebla Downtown will assume a coveted space along the city’s highly traveled main square. A conversion of an existing prominent independent hotel, the hotel’s 42 guest rooms and common areas emphasize a design theme that pays homage to the city’s rich, colonial architecture and proud culture. The hotel is on track to begin construction in spring 2024, with a planned summer 2025 opening to follow.
voco Ardez Hotel Sunnyvale: This hotel will sit at the heart of California’s famed Silicon Valley and within 10 miles of the campuses of Google, Apple, Yahoo!, LinkedIn and PayPal. The 51-room hotel will nourish guests through a unique restaurant concept and grab-and-go market. Also located within a few miles of San Jose International Airport, Levi’s Stadium and Stanford University, voco Ardez Hotel Sunnyvale tentatively is scheduled to open in summer 2024.
The five new Americas signings continue an exciting second half of the year for voco hotels. In July, the newly rebranded voco Fiorello – LaGuardia East hotel opened near its namesake New York City airport, offering travelers 114 rooms filled with sophisticated, aviation-inspired décor and property-wide sustainable features including electric vehicle charging stations. The brand also anticipates opening new hotels in Mexico City, Cincinnati, and Sarasota and Destin, Fla. – among others – in the coming months.
For further information or to book, visit vocohotels.com or use the new IHG One Rewards mobile app.


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It’s gotten more popular than ever to hate on the Call of Duty franchise. Critics of the game see it as the Madden football of the first person shooter genre. One that improves on little, and offers a yearly roster update in the form of its guns and maps. As far away from the case that this may be, Infinity Ward asserts that this is precisely the type of motivation that they use to make better games. In a recent interview, Robert Bowling elaborates on this thought process for the developer, and assures that the company isn’t resting on its laurels.
“We may have the number one selling game. We may have, at times, the number one most played game. So it’s very easy to sit back and say. We’ve done our jobs perfectly. We have the best game ever created. Look at the numbers.” “But then you can get online and have people kick dirt in your face constantly every day about anything that they may not like about the game. It allows you to have a gut check and a perspective that this is where we still need to go. This is work that we still need to do.”
Bowling also recently went on the record to describe the new innovations that the franchise is ushering in, and pointed to the co-development process between Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, and Raven Software as a major contributor of new ideas coming to the franchise. Whatever innovations are coming to the franchise this November haven’t been explained fully up to this point. Bowling has alluded to some changes that will be coming to the game this fall, but the complete picture has yet to be revealed. You can’t think that they will change the best selling game in the world that much, but anything’s possible.
- This article was updated on:May 16th, 2017


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News and what makes the news has undergone a drastic transformation in the last decade. With the rise of reality TV, smartphones, and social networks, just about anyone can create their own news story about just about anything. It’s freedom of the press gone wild, without rules or boundaries. Forget about big brother watching you, because everyone has an itchy trigger finger when it comes to the record button on their cell phones.
While in the grand scheme of things, these stories are just flashes in the pan, don’t forget that they can have a big impact in the short term. Once these stories go viral and the comments start piling up, major news outlets like CNN pick them up and damage control can become a life or death struggle.
Foodservice in the spotlight
Whether you want it or not, a customer photo or video, praise or complaint can draw the heat and light of national attention. Something as simple as a Facebook post or a Reddit contribution can quickly take off. Foodservice is not immune, in fact the intense level of interaction that caterers and cafés have with customers seems to attract this sort of viral activity. Lately, there is no shortage of news stories about encounters at foodservice establishments.
Whether the news is good
In March Chili’s touched us all when a kind-hearted waitress fixed a “broken” burger for a little girl with Autism, winning them millions of new likes on Facebook.
When Morton’s Steakhouse surprised a traveler with an airport delivery after he jokingly Tweeted an order, it was dubbed “The greaetst customer service story ever told.”
Last week it was the crazy restaurant owners who took their insanity to Facebook after Gordon Ramsay walked out them on Kitchen Nightmares.
In March it was the restaurant that was took to Twitter to out and shame no shows.
In January it was the Applebee waitress who was fired after sharing a pious (and cheap) customer’s receipt, drawing negative attention to everyone involved.
Sometimes the story has little to do with the business, it just happened in their establishment. Like when an immature Olive Garden customer found an odd solution to dealing with a bad date.
What can you do?
Short of banning smartphones, recording devices, and making customers sign a confidentiality agreement, there isn’t a whole lot you can do. People like to communicate and share their experiences, especially when they run on the extreme. Customers will always be the variables, but what you can do is keep the ranting to a minimum by providing an excellent experience worth raving about—whether it’s to their best friend or everyone on the Internet.
Focus on customer service—If you’re in the service industry, this should be a no brainer. You’re not always going to be a hero to a little girl or an airport traveler, but you can take steps to consistently meet and exceed customer expectations. Using systems like TRAX Platform to add customer convenience and increase efficiency and accuracy will go a long way.
Be good to your employees—The reputation of your business is often in the hands of your employees—disgruntled employees provide lousy service. And remember, as much as customers want excellent service, they also want to know you treat your staff well, too. A caterer made headlines last week for pocketing gratuities, resulting in a civil suit brought by a customer.
Don’t be crazy—This one goes without saying. Lashing out at customers and staff will definitely draw the kind of negative attention that can threaten your livelihood. And, just in general, being in good health will help you run your business.
And don’t worry, when the customer is at fault, the ever-present social reporters catch them, too.


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First ever Young Professionals Expo in Downtown Wilmington
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and the Port City Professionals teamed up Wednesday to put on the first ever Young Professional Expo.
The event started early Wednesday afternoon and wrapped up around 7:30 p.m. at the Ironclad Brewery in Downtown Wilmington. The event featured dozens of vendors, three panel discussions and great networking opportunities.
Their goal is to keep young professionals in the area, help entrepreneurs and share success stories. Organizer and Wilmington Chamber of Commerce Member Services Director Megan Canny says it is important for the city’s future.
“You know, young professionals, we’re the future of Wilmington. Our ideas matter in the future. You know, we need to know the resources if we want to grow a business. Or how to brand ourselves. Or how to get involved with non-profits and really giving back to the community. And just you know, working with each other and other parts of the community,” Canny said.
More than 200 people attended the first ever Young Professional Expo.
Canny says although there are no plans yet, the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce hopes to have another expo with the Port City Young Professionals in the near future.
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Rory McIlroy might be the top contender to some day knock Tiger Woods off his perch as the face of golf, if he hasn’t already, and McIlroy took a step in that direction Monday.
EA Sports announced that McIlroy, the four-time major winner and 25-year-old from Northern Ireland, will be the new cover boy and namesake of its golf franchise, now titled Rory McIlroy PGA TOUR.
EA Sports previously teamed with Woods for Tiger Woods PGA TOUR from 1998 to 2013 until they parted in 2013.
EA Sports announced last summer that a game would be made for this year, but the release didn’t announce which golfer, if any, would take over a spot Woods held for much of his career.
“I’m very proud and humbled to see my face and name on EA Sports Rory McIlroy PGA TOUR,” McIlroy said in a release. “This is a great honor, and something I couldn’t even dream of growing up playing the sport. I really hope people enjoy the game and I’m very glad I can be a part of it.”
EA Sports didn’t announce a specific release date or other details about the game, but it will hit shelves in June 2015 and be available for Xbox One and PlayStation4.
The game will be EA Sports’ first built using the Frostbite engine, and the release said this toolset “allows the development team to create beautiful new environments, featuring the most detailed courses in franchise history.” Frostbite will also eliminate load times between holes, which was something that slowed the game in past years.
Here’s the official trailer:


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TOKYO — Honda Motor Co. mentioned it is weighing creation cuts in Japan due to a world wide shortage of automotive microchips. Several other world wide automakers and suppliers also mentioned they have been impacted.
Honda strategies to decrease domestic output by 4,000 models in January, a slowdown mainly affecting the Suit little hatchback at Honda’s Suzuka plant, the Nikkei newspaper claimed on Friday. The bottleneck could possibly outcome in the loss of tens of hundreds of models as a result of March for Honda, the report mentioned. The trigger is a restricted materials of pc chips for cars and trucks.
A Honda spokeswoman mentioned the business is aware of the industrywide microchip shortage and is thinking about countermeasures. But it is way too soon for Honda to say when the business could possibly announce any output changes or how many vehicles could possibly be impacted, she mentioned.
In the meantime, Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler joined its German peer Volkswagen Group in saying it’s impacted by the industrywide offer bottleneck, without the need of quantifying the affect. Nissan Motor Co. mentioned it is changing creation of Take note hatchbacks.
VW, the world’s biggest carmaker, introduced very last month that it would need to have to adjust initially-quarter producing strategies all-around the world for the reason that of the shortage. The amount of VW car output missing could be in the lower six-digit assortment, according to people today familiar with the matter.
Suzuki Motor Corp. also is altering creation, while there is no prepare at this issue to idle factories, a spokesperson mentioned. A Subaru Corp. representative mentioned it’s been dealing with some components-offer delays and might adjust output.
“The unfold of the coronavirus has impacted procurement in semiconductors and linked components,” a Honda spokesperson mentioned in a assertion Friday. “We will address this difficulty by changing creation and changing car types.”
Nissan’s Oppama plant in Japan will decrease Take note creation this month, a spokesperson mentioned, without the need of offering information. The Nikkei mentioned the business would slash output to 5,000 cars and trucks a month, from 15,000.
Robert Bosch GmbH and Continental AG, two of the world’s greatest vehicle suppliers, acknowledged the chip shortage very last month immediately after VW’s announcement.
BMW AG mentioned the automaker is in common make contact with with its suppliers over the difficulty, while it hasn’t yet had to decrease or cease car creation.
Separately, China’s GAC mentioned its joint undertaking with Honda had received warnings on offer of particular types, but gave no information.
Dongfeng, which also has a partnership in China with Honda, did not quickly answer to a request for comment. Peugeot maker PSA Group has not been impacted, a spokeswoman mentioned Friday.
Very first warnings
Automakers and suppliers initially sounded the alarm about opportunity offer chain difficulties very last month, warning that it might hit vehicle creation in the initially quarter of 2021.
International makers of semiconductors scaled back again output in the course of the pandemic lockdowns of early 2020. But now, these producers are sluggish to catch up to desire that is quickly ramping back again up.
A significant fire in Oct at a chip plant owned by Asahi Kasei Microdevices, a unit of Asahi Kasei in southern Japan, has also weakened semiconductor offer.
Fueling the shortage is soaring desire for chips in digital gadgets these as phones and computer systems, which is diverting deliveries away from automotive prospects.
Bloomberg and Reuters contributed to this report


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The Denzong Agricultural Co-operative Society Ltd. has been undertaking massive marketing of the poultry broilers produced by local farmers.
In a press release issued by the Managing Director of the Society it has been mentioned that the marketing has drastically increased during the current year, thereby immensely benefiting the local economy. During six months periods, from April to October 2010, an amount of Rs. 2,23,89,178/- has been disbursed among local farmers on account of marketing of 3,05,109 kgs of local broilers.
The marketing is being carried out through member cooperative societies. This shows the Society’s commitment towards the upliftment of local economy as well as giving boost to the cooperative movement in the State adds the release.
The Society is playing important role as a partner to the initiative taken by the State Government through Poultry Mission, by meeting majority of Army’s requirement from local surplus production of poultry broilers. We are also marketing the local oranges and some of the vegetable items for Army requirement.
Courtesy: Sikkim Mail


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If someone had suggested 20 years ago that dependence on imported minerals — and not oil or natural gas — would become the dominant natural resource problem facing an incoming administration, I would have said it was absurd. Having been in the oil business for 50 years and seen the ups and downs of our industry during that time, I now see dark clouds on the horizon for the minerals industry.
Back in 2000, U.S. mines were producing a diverse mix of minerals. But with the shutdown of many domestic mines in recent years due to cheaper imports, U.S. dependence on minerals from abroad has doubled and we now rely heavily on imports for 31 of the 35 minerals that the Interior and Defense Departments have deemed “critically important” to our national security and the nation’s economy. China is a major supplier of half of the minerals, ranging from rare earth elements to metals for electric car batteries and weapons systems.
Import dependence is exacerbated by countries like China that subsidize the mining of minerals. This has lulled many American companies into using minerals from China, even if doing so carries serious risks. The parallels with our past dependence on foreign oil are unmistakable.
The transformation of the auto industry shows that China is a force to be reckoned with. Thanks to aggressive government policies aimed at nurturing the growth of high-tech industries, China now possesses half of the world’s EVs. In 2010, there were only 17,000 EVs worldwide. By 2019, the number had swelled to 7.2 million. Today China has a larger EV market than the U.S. and Europe combined.
By using EVs to leapfrog ahead, China can overtake established automakers and increase its share of the world market. Morgan Stanley expects EVs to account for 35% of the global auto market by 2030. IHS Markit projects EVs will be 60 to 80% of cars sold by 2050. And, make no mistake, China is poised to dominate a number of other high-tech industries, including super conductors, telecommunications, artificial intelligence, robotics, and advanced aircraft manufacturing.
To achieve its goal, China is investing heavily in minerals production and processing. However, China has demonstrated an inclination to use its growing power to undercut accepted rules and to coerce other countries. China’s firms have locked up supplies of minerals and metals using a combination of state-directed investment and state-backed capital with far-reaching implications for minerals security.
China already dominates the global supply of lithium, a necessary ingredient for EV batteries. A lithium-ion battery weighs about 1,000 pounds. It typically contains about 25 pounds of lithium. But state-supported Chinese companies control 80% of the global lithium supply, which has given China leverage in trade negotiations with the U.S.
As the manufacture of EVs ramps up, demand for lithium is expected to soar. Tesla, the largest electric car maker in the United States, expects its need for lithium to grow eight-fold.by 2050. And that’s only one EV company. There are at least 50 EV manufacturers worldwide.
Can we reduce this dependence on lithium from China? The answer may shape our economy and the international system for decades.
Without access to lithium and other battery metals like nickel, graphite and cobalt, America’s auto manufacturing industry may not survive. Reducing dependence on China-sourced lithium needs to be an integral part of our nation’s industrial policy. But for such a policy to succeed, the U.S. needs to kick-start domestic production of critical metals instead of relying on imports. The U.S. has vast mineral resources. With appropriate policies, we can bring hundreds of thousands of jobs back home, increase domestic manufacturing, bolster mining in the U.S., and boost the productivity of U.S. auto companies.
Dr. Robert W. Chase holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering from Penn State. He served as professor and chair of the Department of Petroleum Engineering and Geology at Marietta College from 1978 to 2015. He worked previously for Halliburton Services, Gulf Research and Development Company, and the Department of Energy and has consulted for numerous companies. You can reach him at [email protected]


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Have you always wanted to teach yoga online but never managed the hassles of teaching online? Or are you a gym freak who knows his craft but is unable to digitally sell his course? Worry not! We discuss revolutionary application that can completely change how online education and training is delivered.
According to the report, Online Education in India: 2021, market growth projected by Google and KPMG to reach USD 1.96 billion by 2021. As a result, India has become the second-largest market for e-learning after the United States. The Statista report in 2020 shows that the penetration rate of smartphones in India has increased from just 22 percent in 2016 to 54 percent and is projected to reach 96 percent in 2040.
In the 21st century, everything is in our handheld devices and controlled by our fingertips. Technology has reached its peak, and yet it is constantly evolving. The main derivative of technology is the use of mobile phones in everyday transactions. Currently, the importance of mobile education is undeniable. Not only does this make learning flexible and accessible, but it also makes it available over time.
With the help of the e-learning foundation on digital platforms, teaching is not limited to just 4 walls. Online classes and learning trends have allowed teachers and educational content creators to teach on the internet and sell their courses online. Demand for this specialty has grown significantly as a result of recent corporate scandals. In India in particular, millions of creators-teachers have faced the challenge of finding a stable platform for educational curriculum creation that will take into account local needs, including affordability. A revolutionary ad-tech platform, Kohbee, has emerged as the right one for Indian teachers. Launched by a group of young IIT alumni – Rohan Sinha, Shashwat Aditya and Siddharth Chauhan developed the mobile SaaS platform operating from Bangalore. Their goal is to build a strong core team that will work to reduce the challenges currently facing teachers in the digital world.
How Kohbee came to be?
The start-up was set up when Rohan and Shashwat had trouble running their online classes, and they started building an app that would make it easier for anyone to start online classes. Solving one’s problem now blesses many similar professionals. Their mission-driven motto is shaped by the Kohbee platform. The co-founders want to bring power back to the teachers, thanking investors for believing in the incarnation of the Kohbee platform. It is an all-in-one platform for online teachers, educators, and trainers, currently used by 30,000 content creators and educators.
A laptop / PC is required for a state-of-the-art e-learning platform. Siddharth Chauhan also quoted in this context that 60 per cent creator-educators in the education industry do not have laptops and we want to provide them with a platform that can be rotated on mobile. “Instead of going the DIY, or ‘Do It Yourself’ mode, Kohbee has been designed with a ‘complete for you’ approach, which is a big deal for producers-educators who want to grow up.” Rohan Sinha added.
The co-founders also feel that their team is now entering a new era when many of these teachers are launching their own YouTube channels and classes, and it’s exciting to see the creator’s economy begin. They consider themselves the tech partners of many such people and feel privileged to serve them.
Of course, approval is largely indicated by the significant number of 100,000+ downloads seen in just five months. Support for 7 Indian languages, including Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bahasa, Malay, Tamil, Bengali and two Southeast Asian languages, is considered a home remedy for accessing the Kohbee app.
This platform promises a paradigm shift in the online fitness creator market. Yoga gurus, weight trainers, etc. who are all taking online lessons can use the Kohbee Mobile Application to manage their classes. This is truly a game-changer for the fitness industry and has the potential to completely revolutionize how such lessons are delivered remotely.
The Kohbee platform is secure and has a user-friendly interface and offers a great mode of learning for free. Whether you want to interact with students or sell your courses online and start classes, Kohbee is a great app to teach students online. Currently, Kohbee is used globally by over 15,000 teachers and is being downloaded in 45+ countries. It is one of the top-ranking apps on Google Play with the upcoming iOS app.


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This article originally appeared on Vogue Business. To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here.
In the 10 years since its collapse, Rana Plaza has come to symbolize not only the lack of factory safety in fashion’s supply chains but a matrix of systemic issues — from garment worker vulnerability to the colonial power dynamics between brands and suppliers.
Located in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Rana Plaza housed five separate garment factories in an eight-storey building — five sets of machinery, five inventories of clothing and fabric bales, and five sets of staff crammed into tight rows. On April 23, major cracks appeared in the building, prompting employees to push back against going to work. Their resistance was met with an impossible ultimatum: go into the building and work, or lose a month’s pay. The shops and banks on the lower floors closed immediately, but the garment factories remained at work. The next day, the building collapsed with many of its workers inside.
The Rana Plaza Solidarity Collective — supported by Traid, Labour Behind the Label, Remake and more — has labelled the event a “mass industrial homicide”. At least 1,138 people died, including several rescue workers, and a further 2,500 were injured or disabled. While some brands with current or recent orders with the factories at the time of the collapse paid compensation to the workers and their families, activists say the amounts were largely insufficient, and other brands have still yet to pay. According to the International Labour Organization, the Rana Plaza Claims Administration (RPCA) distributed $30 million in compensation to around 5,500 claimants, jointly funded by implicated brands and local government. RPCA closed in 2015 and was succeeded by the Trust for Injured Workers Medical Care (TIWMC), which continues to provide medical support to survivors.
Ayesha Barenblat says that Rana Plaza galvanised her to found the non-profit Remake, a garment worker advocacy non-profit whose social media campaign #PayUp helped recoup $22 billion in unpaid contracts when brands cancelled orders during the pandemic. “Rana Plaza captured mass public outrage and made me recognise that we needed change far sooner and far faster, with a lot more external pressure on brands.”
What did the industry learn from Rana Plaza? The global response at the time can be largely summed up by the International Safety Accord (formerly known as the Bangladesh Accord, established in 2013) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a five-year plan focused on fire and building safety inspections, worker training, and worker empowerment, which disbanded in 2018. The Accord applies to registered factories, but it does not cover unregistered factories or home-based garment workers, many of whom are still struggling for recognition from the brands indirectly employing them.


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BH Locksmith in Houston Now Offers Comprehensive Packages Valid for a Limited Period
(PRWEB) March 02, 2017
BH Locksmith, a leading locksmith shop in Houston, recently introduced special tailor-made packages for the residents and business owners in Houston. The recently introduced packages are designed keeping in mind the diverse needs of their clients, the owners said. They said that residential, commercial, and automotive locksmith services are quite different and potential clients who look for these services are often on a budget. Starting from the most basic services such as rekeying to advanced solutions such as CCTV installation are now carried out by the trained professionals of the locksmith shop in Houston.
One of the senior executives recently appeared before the press here in Houston. He said, “We are market leaders when it comes to providing locksmith services in Houston. Our trained professionals have managed to gain the trust of residents and business owners in Houston by providing quality services. We have received hundreds of positive reviews till date on the business directories for the quality services we provide on time. We thought it’s our payback time and we introduced these special packages for our new and returning customers. We believe that the customized service packages would help us in securing an even better position in the Houston locksmith market.”
The senior executive also added that their locksmiths undergo six months of on-job training before they are taken on the payroll of BH Locksmith. He said that the management only accepts applications from licensed locksmiths at the time of recruitment and added that the locksmiths must be fully insured in order to become a part of their team.
“Not just offering attractive service packages, our focus has always been on having really competent people on our team. We always look for locksmiths who have solid work ethics, as we want to offer the best value for money to our customers”, said the executive. He also said that the company has plans to offer large discounts and other special offers to their returning customers.
About the Company
BH Locksmith is one of the leading locksmith service providers in Houston.
Phone Number: (281) 777-6030
To know more, visit http://bh-locksmith.com/


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Heavy-Duty Data Reign in the Wild West of Content
The Auto Care Association’s Technology team is pleased to launch a new monthly Auto Care Tech blog series …
- Will Auto Care pay for my PCR test?
- If I contract COVID at an event, will Auto Care pay for my care?
- Even vaccinated individuals can get COVID/Delta. Why not have the requirement be a negative PCR test for all attendees?
- [REPORT] 2022 Auto Care Factbook
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just the Round-Up - The week in drinks
The week in drinks
The top ten stories published on just-drinks this week:
Distell has toasted its international division for driving a strong performance in the first six months of its fiscal year.
US off-trade spirits volumes rose across the category in January, with Remy Cointreau seeing the biggest lift of the major producers, according to latest figures.
Inver House Distillers is to double the capacity of its Speyburn Distillery with a GBP4m (US$6.7m) expansion programme.
Pernod Ricard has recruited film director Baz Luhrmann to design a limited edition, Australia-themed bottle for a spiced orange-flavoured variant of its Absolut vodka brand.
- Allegro: The shape of things to come at Pernod?
- Pernod Ricard's Allegro cost-saving programme
- Comment - Diageo's Distill Ventures: One Year On
- The End of the Road for International Beer Brands?
- Pernod Ricard's FY Performance by Region, Brand
- Pernod Ricard set for CMO switch
- ASA bans Jägermeister TV ad
- Wine Australia reports death of UK, Europe boss
- Pernod bemoans tough FY as sales, profits drop
- Diageo takes Haig Club to Singapore airport


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In the first weekend edition of The Daily, crypto exchange Kucoin lists Mimblewimble coin Grin, giving it several trading pairs, and Bakkt releases product details about its upcoming futures contracts. Also, a Chinese investor sues a famous Israeli crypto entrepreneur for alleged fraud, while Malta issues a warning about a get-rich-quick “Bitcoin Revolution” scam.
Kucoin Lists Trading Pairs With Privacy-Centric Grin
Cryptocurrency exchange Kucoin has announced the listing of grin, the recently launched, privacy-focused cryptocurrency which is based on the Mimblewimble protocol. “Grin is now on Kucoin, you can deposit now,” the Singapore-headquartered digital asset platform tweeted, adding that the coin will be tradable with several pairs – bitcoin core (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and the stablecoin tether (USDT). The exchange also said that withdrawals will open at 18:00 (UTC+8) on Saturday, Jan. 26.
Grin (GRIN) is now on KuCoin, you can deposit now. Trading pairs include GRIN/BTC, GRIN/ETH and GRIN/USDT. Buying starts Jan 24, 2019, 17:30 (UTC+8), selling starts Jan 24, 2019, 18:00 (UTC+8) and withdrawal opens Jan 26, 2019, 18:00 (UTC+8).@grinMW #KCS #GRIN #BTC #ETH #USDT pic.twitter.com/8IzidvrN6L
— KuCoin Updates (@KuCoinUpdates) January 24, 2019
Grin is the second Mimblewimble digital currency launched since the beginning of the year, with Beam being the first. Mimblewimble was originally developed in 2016 to improve the scalability of the Bitcoin network and provide enhanced privacy for its users.
Since its launch, the price of grin has seen considerable volatility and a significant decline following the rapid increase in its supply due to its inflationary design and high issuance curve. According to Coingecko, the coin is trading at $8.27 at the time of writing, after doubling in price in a matter of days. Beam’s start was not an easy one either. Its developers found a critical vulnerability in their wallet soon after the launch of the Beam mainnet, and UTXO bug later caused its blockchain to temporarily grind to a halt.
Bakkt Publishes Bitcoin Futures Specifications
Crypto platform Bakkt, a subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), has released new details about its upcoming Bitcoin futures product. According to the specifications published on ICE’s website, the trading screen product name of the contracts will be “Bakkt BTC (USD) Daily Future” and each contract will be 1 BTC in size. Bakkt will offer one-day, physically delivered futures.
There will be no daily price limit and prices will be quoted in U.S. dollars. The minimum price fluctuation will be $2.50 per coin (contract), which can go down $0.01 per 1 BTC for block trades with a minimum of 10 lots. A position limit of 100,000 lots in any contract date will be applied. A $0.50 combined exchange and clearing fee per side will be charged.
Bakkt futures were initially expected on Jan. 24, but at the end of December, ICE published a notice stating that the launch date “will be amended pursuant to the CFTC’s process and timeline.” The platform is still waiting for regulatory approval from the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
Last month Bakkt raised $182.5 million in funding. In mid-January the company announced an agreement to acquire assets from the futures merchant Rosenthal Collins Group. It also recently posted eight vacancies looking to hire blockchain developers among other specialists and executives.
Investor Sues Israeli Crypto Entrepreneur Moshe Hogeg
A cryptocurrency investor from China has filed a lawsuit in Tel Aviv against the well-known Israeli crypto entrepreneur Moshe Hogeg. Zhewen Hu alleges Hogeg misappropriated millions of dollars invested in his company STX Technologies Ltd (Stox).
The Chinese citizen, who invested about $3.8 million worth of ethereum in the prediction market platform, is suing Hogeg and Stox for $4.6 million, saying the company’s promises and commitments never materialized.
Stox raised a total of $34 million during its initial coin offering in August 2017 but the lawsuit claims Hogeg invested only $5 million of the ICO funds in the company, The Times of Israel reported. He is accused of using the rest of the money to invest in other ICO projects including Telegram’s token sale.
Malta Warns About Crypto Platform ‘Bitcoin Revolution’
The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has issued an alert about a crypto investment platform called Bitcoin Revolution. According to the regulator, the entity promotes itself by publishing ads on a number of associated sites and posts on social media using the names of prominent personalities without their consent and announcing profits they supposedly made.
“Bitcoin Revolution is NOT a Maltese registered company NOR licensed or otherwise authorised by the MFSA to provide any investment or other financial services which are required to be licenced or otherwise authorised under Maltese law,” MFSA stated in the alert notice quoted by The Times of Malta. The financial watchdog describes the platform as an international “get-rich-quick” cryptocurrency scam.
What are your thoughts on today’s news tidbits? Tell us in the comments section.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
At Bitcoin.com there’s a bunch of free helpful services. For instance, have you seen our Tools page? You can even lookup the exchange rate for a transaction in the past. Or calculate the value of your current holdings. Or create a paper wallet. And much more.
The post The Daily: Bakkt Shares BTC Futures Details, Kucoin Adds Grin Trading Pairs appeared first on Bitcoin News.


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For Immediate Release, Los Angeles, California. Balayage is ‘sweeping’ the nation, and SUNLIGHTS Professionnel Balayage Lightener™, the nation’s premiere balayage company, proved just that at PBA’s season opening 2015 International Salon & Spa Expo in Long Beach California on January 24-26. With literally hundreds of stylists mobbing the SUNLIGHTS booth all weekend to witness the live balayage demonstrations, SUNLIGHTS completely SOLD OUT of all inventory by mid-day on the last day of the show. Show goers bought nearly 200 BALAY BOXES®, the now famous ‘balayage class in a box’ containing everything a stylist needs to learn how to and do balayage. THE BALAY BOX is the ‘brain child’ of celebrity stylist, salon owner and educator Candy Shaw. Relegated to taking orders for the remainder of the show after its inventory sold out, SUNLIGHTS filled an additional 200 orders from its east coast warehouse upon returning home from the show. “The Long Beach show was a huge success for us!” said Candy Shaw, “California is undoubtedly a great market for SUNLIGHTS.”
Since the beginning of 2015, SUNLIGHTS has secured distribution in over 30 states and the District of Columbia and is actively talking to other first tier distributors in the remaining states. We hope to have our nation wide distribution network in place by the end of February. “We’re very excited about the fantastic group of SUNLIGHTS distributors we’re putting into place” says Shaw. “They’re clearly the nation’s top independent distributors and several are third generation family businesses like SUNLIGHTS.”
The SUNLIGHTS booth was so swamped that our California and Las Vegas distributor had to come back three times just to meet Candy and discuss some of the details of our upcoming launch. “We were very pleased to make the acquaintance of Karl & Teresa Sweis and Glen Pacek of Sweis, Inc. and are extremely excited about our March 30 southern California launch. Sweis is one of the country’s top distributors and California and Nevada are great markets for SUNLIGHTS. We couldn’t be more pleased about forging this alliance” says Shaw.
For more information about SUNLIGHTS & THE BALAY BOX please contact email@example.com.


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Mahta plastic Co. is specialized manufacturer of cleaning and hygiene product utilizing machines and technology of the day with over 20 years of successful production with help of 150 personnel that are occupied in design, production and commercial departments and is one of major manufacturers of these products in Iran and Middle East.
This group utilizing Italian technical knowledge of the day could start its activities in the field of manufacturing monofilament yarn (fibers of broom and brush) in different colors and sizes from 2015. This production line with 3000kg of capacity a day could perform a major part of recycling beverage bottles. read more…
News and events
Participation of Mahta plastic Co. in 14th International Iran Plast exhibition from 7 Feb. to 10 Feb. 2021. Successful presence of Mahta plastic co. in booth no.1 of hall (3-44) and obtaining appreciation letter from Iran National Petrochemical Industries Co.. Iran plast exhibition has been holding since 2002 on a yearly basis or sometimes every two years. This exhibition shows economic power of Iran that in spite of sanctions of USA this industry is affected less. Petrochemical and plastic industry is one of pillars of economic growth all around the world and Iran plast Exhibition is an opportunity to show Iranian capacities. This changes plastic and polymer industry to one of most important industries in economy of the world. From this point of view, Iran Plast exhibition is one of most important international exhibitions that is being held in the country.
clean the house from top to bottom
Why a house should be cleaned from upper part to down part? There are read more...


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02 Dec 2013 Last updated at 00:21:07 GMT
LONDON (Scrap Monster) : China’s gold imports through Hong Kong rose to new autumn records in October, customs data showed today, as traders prepared for the now traditional New Year surge in consumer demand.
Allowing for mainland exports back to the city, net imports to China through Hong Kong reached 129.9 tonnes last month, very nearly matching March 2013's all-time peak of 130 tonnes.
Referring to October's 19% rise in net China gold imports as "stockpiling" ahead of the New Year festivities, "Some banks may have brought in shipments to fill their import quota before the end of the year," the Wall Street Journal quotes Wang Xinyou, the precious metals chief at Beijing's Agricultural Bank of China.
Import licenses for gold are strictly controlled by the People's Bank of China. Any approved importers failing to use their entire quota may, says Wang, find their 2014 permit reduced.
Year-to-date, net gold imports through Hong Kong to mainland China – now the world's No.1 consumer nation – have more than doubled from 2012 to total 956 tonnes so far.
Also the world's No.1 gold mining producer since 2007, China has mined a year-to-date record of more than 300 tonnes so far in 2013, according to latest data from the China Gold Association.
End-consumer demand for gold last year reached 832 tonnes, the Association says.
Worldwide, consumer demand for gold jewelry has risen by one fifth so far in 2013 from the same period last year, according to data compiled for market-development group the World Gold Council.
"The global gold market remains resilient," says World Gold Council director for investment Marcus Grubb, "underpinned by the continued shift in demand from West to East, strong demand in consumer categories and solid central bank and technology sectors."
But calling this year's surge in Chinese demand "abnormal", mining firm China Gold Group Corp. executive Du Haiqing this month forecast a drop in consumer purchases ahead.
"China's gold consumption will gradually cool down," he told an industry conference. "The current consumption level of over 1,000 tonnes will not be sustained and will fall to normal levels as consumers become more rational."
First deregulating China's gold market in 2002, and actively encouraging households to buy gold in recent years, Chinese authorities this August fined 5 gold retailers based in Shanghai, as well as a local trade association, for "manipulating" the price of jewelry.
Author: Paul Ploumis


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KARACHI: The locally manufactured vehicles sales (including LCVs, Vans, and Jeep) have declined by 6 percent in July-Aug 2018 (the first two months of the current fiscal) with the sale of 39,006 compared to 41,671 units sold in the same period last year.
However, the car sales were down by 2.1 percent in July-August to 34,264 units compared to 35,001 units in the same period last year.
The car sales of Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) have declined by 12 percent in the last two months as the company sold only 19,578 units in last two months compared to 22,336 units sold in the same period last year. The sales of Cultus, Mehran, Bolan, and Ravi witness a decline, while Suzuki Swift and WaganR went up during the period.
According to the analyst, “the sales of locally manufacturers car dropped as the previous government has imposed a condition to sell the vehicle to the filer only. This condition hurts the vehicle’s manufacturers in the months of July-Aug as the budget 2018-19 is implemented from July 1, 2018,” an analyst of a brokerage house said.
The market experts said that banks are financing for the new cars for drivers of Uber and Careem, therefore, its sales are stabled for the last few months.
Another reason of slowdown in car sales was due to higher car prices as all companies raised its car prices 3-4 times during last fiscal year and continuous Pak-rupee depreciation against the dollar.
The major reason of low car sales is the restriction imposed by the government on non-filers for booking and registration of new cars, and resumption of import of used and new cars through personal transfer or baggage scheme.
Honda (HCAR) sales declined to 8,942 units in July-Aug 2018, down by 3 percent compared to 9,176 units sold in July-Aug 2017. However, its BR-V (jeep) went down to 864 units sold in July-Aug compared to 1,411 units sold in the same period last year.
Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) sales have gone down by 12 percent to 19,578 units in the month of July-Aug compared to 22,336 units sold in the same period last year. The sales of Suzuki WagonR and Swift have gone up to 5,222 units and 839 in July-Aug 2018 respectively compared to 4,137 units and 722 units sold in the same period last year. However, the sales of Cultus and Swift have declined during the period.
The PSMC has issued a notification to shut down the plant of Mehran VX (Without Air-conditioner) from November 2018, which may also affect its total sale in the current fiscal year. There are also rumours that the PSMC will also shut down its Mehran VXR (With AC) from April 2019.
Indus Motors (INDU) sold Corolla 10,486 units in July-Aug 2018 up by a modest 3 percent compared to 10,159 units in the same period last year. Focus on high margin segment has borne fruit as sales of Fortuner have gone down to 424 units compared to 535 units sold in July-August 2017. However, the company sold 1,292 units of Toyota Hilux in two-months compared to 967 units sold in July-Aug 2017.


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We suppose you can't blame Apple for trying; in the wake of the company's failure to secure an injunction against Amazon for its continued use of the "Appstore" term, it's been revealed that Apple recently tried to convince GetJar to drop the term voluntarily.
Unlike Amazon's flagrant use of "Appstore" in its service's name, GetJar is much less married to the phrase; you won't find it anywhere on the store's main page. The company does use it to describe itself, however, saying "GetJar is the world's largest free app store" . In a letter date June 22, Apple requested GetJar stop even using the phrase in that innocuous sense.
Like Amazon, GetJar has no intentions of rolling over. CEO Ilja Laurs said in regards to the request that "We have built a strong, global and growing business around this model, and plan to continue to use the phrase "app store" to describe what we do. This move by Apple is yet more proof that the company tends to act as if it is above the law, and even as one of the smaller players in the space, we won't be bullied by Apple."
The Amazon case will likely get its day in court in October 2012. In the meantime, Apple continues to send requests out to companies like GetJar; unfortunately, not all of them have the financial and legal resources to stand up to the giant's intimidation.
Source: The Wall Street Journal


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Want to join the conversation?
Accessories retailer $EXPR said in 1Q16, merchandise margin grew by 20BP and GM grew by 30BP. Comparable sales declined 3%, which was below expectations. The company has implemented a new order management system that will enable in introducing new channel capabilities to customers.
$NFLX a monster move, going up. Expect making some money on Monday.
$AMD down more than 6% even after posting above consensus third quarter results.
$MCD stock rose more than 2% after it posted better than expected 3Q16 results, driven by global same-store sales growth. Meanwhile, earnings and revenue were lower than last year, hurt by refranchising efforts.


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Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Tablet: Vox, Underpowered Tablet, Challenges Fire, Nook, And, Maybe, Everyone Else
Kobo has announced a new Android-based tablet (the smartphone flavor) that will cost $199, same as the Kindle Fire, but it will be severely under powered with only a 800 Mhz single core chip. However, these days, specs are not enough to sway an user to one tablet or another.
What's interesting about this is an attempt of a social book club. And here's the thing. It has a 7" screen with the same 1024x600 resolution as most other 7" tablets. What's different about its screen is that Kobo claims to use an "AFFS+ display with anti-glare" - same tech used in airplanes. That was what caught my eyes. Right now, as you know, tablets are not all that great for operations outdoor.
It doesn't stop there. Free RDIO music stream, games and 15K apps. Yeah, the Vox has will have more apps than the Touchpad and RIM's Playbook put together. Those are not the only freebies. As I recall, neither the Kindle or Nook has this kind of material to start the users off. Of course, we don't know if this is an app store that it is operating on its own or that its using someone else's.
So, why Vox? Kobo has no choice but to join the tablet rush. It's totally a defensive move. It's an attempt to fight off Fire and Nook. And if it does succeed, the Vox will be a building platform for Kobo to expand its offerings. The loss of Borders stores likely has hurt it greatly because Kobo e-readers were sold there.
At the end of the day, any kind of competition in the tablet market is everything we mobile warriors can ask for. The Vox is not going to challenge the iPad and Galaxy Tabs of the world, but it could hasten the price drops in the sub-10" tablet market.
Amaon remains the strongest in this part of the market because of the strong Kindle brand. It remains to be seen if these ereader companies turned tablet sellers have what it takes to traditional tablet makers.
And at Vox going for $200, the same price as the Kindle Fire, Kobo is sending a clear signal that it wants to fight for what rightfully belong to it.
More at Kobo.
I have been contemplating getting a new laptop for a long time. A new MacBook in fact. It'll be an upgrade from my 2016 MacBook with its...
We can walk and chew gum at the same time. But how about watching a video while doing yard work, during a meeting you don’t want to be at, ...
I had a short conversation with ChatGPT and I am unable to tell if those answers were predetermined by the developers or something it came u...
I’m on my third Apple Watch with Apple Watch 6 as my latest version. I’m also ready to upgrade (but I will not commit until I know what Appl...


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With the battle over tablets ready to explode this year, the fact manufacturers are increasingly enabling their smartphones to act as mobile hot spots poses intriguing scenarios for drivers and passengers.
Apple may have made its usual splash with the iPad 2, but its recent iOS 4.3 update added something it calls Personal Hotspot, which is just another term for mobile Wi-Fi. The new feature turns the iPhone into a mobile hot spot and allows up to five devices to tap into its 3G data connection using Wi-Fi.
Tethering an iPhone to a computer was already possible going back to 2008, and even Google rolled out mobile hotspot capabilities with its Android 2.2 release, though not every phone using it could actually access it.
But mobile hot spots are here to stay. And having tried them over the course of a week - sometimes with passengers and sometimes without - I like how it all works. Why bother getting a pricey shared data plan like the one Rogers offers when you can harness your smartphone's data plan to connect other devices. It's certainly easy, since you just turn the feature on, choose a password and let others connect.
The unfortunate part is that carriers can decide to disable the feature on a phone, if they want. Rogers had initially flirted with that idea when iPhone tethering incurred no extra costs, but just left it alone in the end. It's likely that the carriers will probably let this one go, too.
The timing behind this is also unique because of the influx of tablets the market will absorb this year. Tablets are data-heavy devices, and experimenting with an iPad this way proved to be a lot of fun. Passengers could browse the web, navigate maps and traffic, stream video remotely from home and on and on. Even using the Kindle or Kobo apps, downloading e-books was a breeze. In fact, those with e-readers could just as easily log in and do the same thing.
True, these things could generally be done with a smartphone alone, but the point is that others can make use of the data on your phone without ever touching it. Granted, most data plans offered by the carriers aren't flush with tons of disposable data to use, but my hunch is that most users are probably not approaching anywhere near their cap anyway. And if the demand for more continues, the carriers may have to relent and provide better plans. Here's hoping they might.
One message that auto makers have touted lately, in tandem with consumer electronics companies, is the idea of Wi-Fi in the car. With mobile hot spots, it's already a reality. If there are built-in apps in a car, they could just piggyback off the smartphone's data plan to connect.
But the setup has more to do with how the other connected devices interact with the Internet and each other. For example, having two kids playing video games in the back seat could be very different if a mobile hot spot enables them to play against each other. Same goes for uploading photos from a road trip and transferring them to someone sitting in the back with a tablet ready to edit them.
The rest of this year will see this kind of functionality and connectivity grow more and more, particularly as it moves from early adopters to the mainstream. Of course, having multiple devices eat up data simultaneously isn't always ideal, and there could be some lag when you have one passenger playing a game online, while another tries to stream live TV.
Still, the fun of it is in trying, and being able to keep yourself and others connected when your wheels are turning.
Follow Globe Drive on Twitter: twitter.com/globe_drive


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Kia Mexico sales grow 260 percent during July
South Korea’s automaker Kia Motors Corp. again renewed its monthly sales record in Mexico in July, market data showed, suggesting its annual target of 50,000 cars is just around the corner.
The carmaker sold 5,510 cars, including light trucks, in Mexico last month, up more than 260 percent from the same month last year, according to the data from AMIA, the Association of Auto Manufacturers in Mexico.
Kia began selling its cars in Mexico in July 2015, but its sales have been on a steady rise ever since.
In January, the carmaker sold 3,110 cars in Mexico, followed by 3,146 in February and 3,381 the next month. The number breached the 5,000 mark for the first time in May.
In the January-July period, Kia Motors sold 29,006 cars there, surpassing the 19,822 cars sold by its bigger affiliate Hyundai Motor Co.
With its monthly sales record renewed every month, Kia Motors’ market share came to 3.4 percent in the cited period. The company is seeking to boost its market share to 5 percent by 2020.
Such an increase in sales follows the construction of a production facility with an annual capacity of 300,000 cars in Mexico earlier in the year.
“The Mexico plant will work as a production facility for the North American region, as well as Central and South America, while meeting demands in Mexico,” a company official said.


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CHICAGO — A plan to raise the tax on beer and hard cider in Illinois has some people angry.
Brewers, distributors and retailers are sounding the alarm on a proposed 21% hike. Business owners, especially small micro-breweries, say it’ll cost them precious revenues and jobs.
Local brewers are lamenting the very real possibility that their taxes could soon go up.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is said to be considering tax hikes on beer, wine and liquor to raise $120 million, just a small part of a complicated plan to raise close to $40 billion in state revenue over six years for a capital plan.
But Illinois retailers say the politicians are piling on.
The Illinois Retail Merchants Association says, on an annual basis, the local beer industry generates nearly $14 billion in economic output, implying 45,000 people are paying an estimated $1.6 billion in wages, if you take into account all the different levels of the supply chain.


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Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) reported first quarter net income of $0.57 per share after the bell Thursday, up from $0.50 per share in the prior year. The consensus estimate was for EPS of $0.57. Revenues grew 11 percent to $3.80 billion from $3.44 billion last year. Analysts estimated revenues of $3.84 billion for the quarter.
Starbucks gapped up sharply Friday and is currently higher by 2.42 at $56.99. The stock has broken out of a 3-week trading range and has set an 8 1/2 month high.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: firstname.lastname@example.org


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It’s been a busy week…
Top Class-Actions: Chinese Drywall, Park West Gallery, Mercedes-Benz
Oh, if these walls could talk. Some good news for homeowners who have found themselves victims of Chinese drywall. The Chinese drywall fiasco is generating a lot of activity, including a class action lawsuit filed on April 24th, by a couple in Florida against Georgia-Pacific Gypsum, and 84 Lumber. The suit alleges the companies sold sulphur-contaminated drywall and timber. Ironically, the products were touted as being ‘green’.
A caution was also added to drywall media mix by Florida’s attorney general, who issued a warning about scam artists out to make a buck off unsuspecting homeowners. Apparently the scams include selling costly or bogus home inspection kits, chemical cleaners and ozone generators.
Who are the targets? Homeowners who worry they may have defective Chinese drywall.
Counterfeit Cruises? Speaking of deceptive business practices, a class action lawsuit was filed against an art auctions dealer that operates on the major cruise lines, including Regent Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival, Norwegian, Oceana, Disney and Holland America. It seems there really is no escape. Park West Gallery, Inc., is being sued for allegedly selling unsuspecting customers knock-offs, or art that in no way would increase in value as predicted by the dealers. Not a pretty picture (ok, ok, the pun was there and I took it…)
Get with the program, Mercedes. The up-to-date one. Mercedes Benz has also allegedly been at it, and now faces a class action over promotion of its Tele Aid emergency response system (ERS). Apparently Mercedes knew the ERS system functioned on soon-to-be obsolete technology but promoted the installation of the system for several years anyway.
These are just some of nearly a dozen new suits we covered this week. Busy.
Top Settlements: Aerotek, Pfizer Bextra & Celebrex (proposed)
Getting their due. Good news for ex-employees of Aerotek this week, though. They seem to have settled their class action over not paying accrued leave when they let staff go. No doubt managers at Starbucks in Florida would be happy with a similar outcome. They’ve just filed a suit against the java giant alleging they’re not being adequately compensated for overtime. And they’re not the only ones. IT techs and laborers in California seem to have constant struggles with labor law violations regarding overtime.
You want me to pay more for…? The big winners this week seem to be consumers who paid too much for Bextra and Celebrex. A settlement has been proposed for $89 million, which, if approved, would go towards reimbursement of costs people paid for the drugs purchased before July 29, 2005.
On tap for next week…
How not to lose weight. Something worth watching over the coming week will be the fallout over liver damage sustained by people who used Hydroxycut diet supplements. While the FDA issued a warning this week not to use the product, for some reason they didn’t put anything out until they had 23 reports of ‘serious health problems’ which include one death and reports of seizures, jaundice and muscle damage and a liver transplant! Serious might be an understatement here. A class action on this one is almost certain.
More to come next week. See you at the bar (yeah, that one).


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MoneyGram renewed its official check processing agreement with Mountain America Credit Union. This agreement includes the signing of a multi-year contract extension to offer processing and program management for Mountain America’s official bank checks. It also leverages MoneyGram’s PrimeLink® Official Check outsourcing solution, which includes daily balancing and reconciliation, inventory management, real-time updates and a state-of-the art online platform. MoneyGram has worked with Mountain America since 1997 in support of Mountain America’s official check program and through its efforts has helped the company prevent fraud losses through timely detection of fraudulent transactions.
NCR Corporation has purchased uGenius Technology video banking software to help it continue to grow its APTRA Interactive Teller solution. This lets consumers conduct remote, assisted-teller transactions over an ATM – speaking with a live teller who has control of the machine, which NCR will pilot for APTRA Interactive Teller throughout 1H/13. NCR and uGenius collaborated to build the first ATM that lets consumers talk and bank with a live, remote teller, which will let banks deliver a face-to-face banking experience for longer hours and offer more services to their customers. NCR also anticipates leveraging other uGenius technologies such as SmartOffice and Online Video Banking to expand the delivery of video banking to multi-channel solutions across NCR Financial Services and other industry verticals. Consumers can now connect and interact with a remote teller in a highly personalized, two-way audio/video experience.
Wright-Patt Credit Union will now implement “APTRA” Interactive Teller from NCR Corporation, allowing members to conduct remote, assisted-teller transactions over an ATM, interacting live with a centralized Wright-Patt teller who has control of the machine. APTRA Interactive Teller is part of NCR’s assisted service suite of solutions, combining the best of video collaboration and remote transaction-processing technology on an ATM. This will ultimately offer teller services after the branch has closed and add branch services in areas where they do not have a branch presence. Wright-Patt will install 12 walk-up units in branch lobbies and off-site locations, and seven additional units in branch drive-throughs. It also allows customers to perform secure transactions without using a traditional ATM card and, like branch tellers, remote tellers can provide customers access to cash in their accounts in amounts over the standard ATM daily cash withdrawal limits.
For undisclosed terms, Tsys is set to acquire ProPay payment solutions, which currently processes for approximately 250,000 small and micro-merchants. It offers merchants self-enrollment, instant activation and simplified pricing to begin accepting payments anytime or anywhere ” online and offline. ProPay- which will become a wholly owned subsidiary of TSYS- offers a mobile payment acceptance dongle ” branded as ProPay JAKTM ” that attaches to smart phones and tablets to securely process payments and encrypt data.
LowellBank is set to install NCR “APTRA” Interactive Teller at remote sites to give customers greater access to teller services. The new ATM-based technology from NCR Corporation (NCR) lets customers conduct transactions and other banking sales and services with a live, remote teller, who has complete control of the ATM. Supported by simultaneous video and audio connections, Interactive Teller can help customers complete 95 percent of the teller services that can be done inside a branch. NCR Interactive Teller will allow LowellBank to offer teller services well beyond traditional branch hours.
Bluepoint Solutions announced that Mountain America Credit Union (MACU) has processed more than 100,000 mobile transactions on its “QwikDeposit ToGo” mobile RDC application in 2011. This equates to nearly $36.5 million in deposits. MACU has $3.2 billion in assets and serves more than 355,000 members through 69 locations in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.
FirstOntario Credit Union has deployed NCR APTRA Interactive Teller, letting customers to talk live to a remote teller at the ATM and giving access to branch services after the branch is closed. Two-way video conferencing integrated within the ATM lets FirstOntario’s members talk to and see a teller who can remotely drive the ATM transaction from a central location, guiding members through typical in-branch transaction via the ATM screen. Services offered include deposits, withdrawals, cheque cashing, loan payments, cash advances, and booking appointments with branch staff.
Teletouch Communications, a leading U.S. wireless services, cellular, consumer electronics and public safety equipment distributor, announced that St. George, Utah-based Wilson Electronics, the leading North American manufacturer of cellular signal boosters, including the world’s first 4G mobile signal booster, recently signed a new agreement appointing Teletouch’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Progressive Concepts, Inc. dba PCI Wholesale as…
First Data Corporation electronic commerce and payment processing has signed an agreement with MoneyDesktop to integrate its personal financial management (PFM) tool into the First Data Online Banking (also known as FundsXpress fx eBanking) offering. This offers consumers the latest PFM technology and enables them to make better-informed decisions through a simple, intuitive navigation integrated into First Data’s online banking solution. First Data offers a full portfolio of integrated online banking and bill payment products, enabling financial institutions to increase customer retention, attract new customers, streamline internal processes and create new sources of revenue.
NCR Corporation began installations of its “APTRA Interactive Teller” virtual teller ATMs at Sussex County Federal Credit Unions. NCR “APTRA Interactive Teller” lets consumers talk to a teller over an ATM, even during evenings and on weekends. NCR will begin additional installations at other financial institutions throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia and other countries during the next three months. The “APTRA Interactive Teller” helps financial institutions resize their business model for delivering the traditional branch banking experience. APTRA Interactive Teller gives cost-effective options for reducing customer wait times during busy periods of the day and staying open for business longer – such as during evenings and on weekends.
Dollar Bank is set to install the NCR “APTRA Interactive Teller” technology to revolutionize the delivery of personal banking services. The “APTRA Interactive Teller” allows consumers to conduct transactions with a live, remote teller via video conference at the ATM, or they can use the traditional ATM experience. This is designed to help reduce customer wait time during busy periods of the day and stay open for business longer. Dollar Bank will introduce both walk-up and drive-thru ATMs with remote teller services to selected branches late in the second quarter 2012. Dollar Bank is a new NCR customer.
NCR Corporation announced a strategic investment in uGenius Technology, in which it has taken a minority equity stake. In 2011, NCR and uGenius collaborated to build the first ATM that lets consumers talk and bank with a live, remote teller, which will let bank branches stay open longer and offer more services to their customers. NCR’s “APTRA” Interactive Teller is using uGenius’ video banking technology to give consumers a choice to conduct teller transactions with the assistance of a live, remote video teller.


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Bandcamp has launched a new Android and iOS app, but this one isn’t for its customers, it’s for the artists and labels using the platform to sell their music.
“It gives you a real-time mobile view into your stats, helps you manage and fulfil your merch, and lets you directly message your fans, even targeting those messages by fan location and level of support,” explained the company in a blog post announcing the app.
Bandcamp says it now has more than one million artists and 3,000 labels with music available on its platform, with the service now up to more than $6m of digital and physical sales a month.
It adds that merchandise remains a thriving element of the site, with artists and labels having bought 5.2m merch items. Meanwhile, last year sales of vinyl and cassettes grew by 48% and 58% respectively on Bandcamp.
The messaging elements of the new app are particularly interesting: this isn’t just about passively browsing analytics, it’s about communicating with fans – Bandcamp says that messages sent through the app will be delivered via email, as well as within its separate fan app.


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The deal sees the 64GB Surface Pro drop to $799, with the 128GB model falling to $899. The discounts do not include a Touch or Type Cover.
Bar the storage, both models have identical specs including Windows 8 Pro, a 10.6-inch 1920 x 1200 resolution display and a third-generation Core i5 processor with 4GB of RAM.
However, while the recent Surface RT discounts are permanent, Microsoft has confirmed that these discounts will only run from August 4 to August 29 and will only be available in the U.S, Canada, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The deals are now available from Microsoft’s website.
A big part of stock analyst Brian White’s reasoning, reported by Apple Insider, is what he calls “insatiable demand” for the iPad mini in Hong Kong and China.
White, of Topeka Capital Markets, said his checks in China and Hong Kong found that nearly all models of the 7.9-inch iPad mini were completely sold out this week.
"Prior to the China launch, we indicated that the iPad mini would be the 'next big thing in China' and we believe this phenomenon is starting to develop," he said. "In our view, the smaller form factor and lower price point will allow Apple to sell the iPad mini in more meaningful volumes versus the regular-size [...]